The present invention relates to a caliper for disk brakes for motorcars, particularly high-performance cars, of the type comprising a body having two side portions and two transverse bridges connecting the two side portions, cylinder-piston units arranged along each side portion, and a circuit with an inlet and an outlet for a fluid for cooling the cylinder-piston units.
As is known, in calipers of the type specified, it is necessary to cool the cylinder-piston units so that the braking fluid does not reach excessively high temperatures which would lead to boiling of the braking fluid and consequently to loss of braking efficiency.
In known calipers, although the circuits for the cooling fluid used up to now for preventing the braking fluid from reaching excessively high temperatures are substantially satisfactory, they have recognized disadvantages.
For example, there are known calipers which have cooling-fluid circuits constituted by ducts formed in the caliper body during casting. These ducts extend along the side portions of the caliper and their path extends past the walls of the cylinder-piston units. However, this known solution requires the caliper bodies to be produced by casting with the disadvantage of structural complexity of the body.
Calipers which have fluid ducts, particularly air ducts, which extend along the cylinder-piston units in the vicinity of the region of contact with the braking pads have also been proposed. However, this latter solution is penalized by the poor heat-removal capacity typical of air, and requires very large ducts.
The technical solution of fitting, on the caliper body, elements having ducts through which a cooling liquid, rather than air, is intended to flow, however, have the disadvantage of requiring dimensions which are notably large, although smaller than those of solutions in which the cooling fluid is air.
The problem upon which the present invention is based is therefore to devise a caliper of the type specified which has structural and functional characteristics such as to satisfy the above-mentioned need to cool the cylinder-piston units, at the same time overcoming the disadvantages mentioned with reference to the prior art.
This problem is solved by a caliper of the type specified which is characterized in that the circuit for the fluid for cooling the cylinder-piston units comprises wells formed along at least one of the side portions, the wells being of a depth such that they extend substantially as far as the vicinity of the wall delimiting at least one of the cylinder piston units, and the wells being closed by covers, the circuit also comprising connecting ducts for putting the wells into fluid communication with one another.